Ladle-crane.



W. H. MORGAN.

LADLE CRANE.

APPLICATION mm) mu 7, 1910.

WITNESSES -4GME [N VEN T 01% M M W 5 Aflorney Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM H. MORGAN, OF ALLIANCE, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MORGAN ENGINEERING COMPANY, OF ALLIANCE, OHIO.

LADLE-CRANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3,1911.

Application filed May 7, 1910. Serial No. 560,053.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. MORGAN, of Alliance, in the county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ladle-Cranes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in ladle cranes,-the object being to provide a crane of compact form and great strength and in which the auxiliary trolley shall be capable of performing all of the work for which such trolleys are ordinarily adapted and in addition, shall be capable of remov- 41 ing and replacing any of the mechanism of the main trolley, also the bridge motor and the mechanism contained in the operators cage and also of facilitating the installation of the main trolley and of lifting and moving machinery or material situated outside of the main girders.

With these objects in view my invention consists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in vertical cross-section of one embodiment of my improvement, and Fig. 2 is a modification.

1, 1, represent the girders which serve to support both the main trolley 2 and the auxlliary trolley 3. The girders 1, 1, are wide box girders having rails 4:, 4, which support the main trolley located vertically over its inner webs 5, 5, and the rails 6, 6, which support the auxiliary trolley located vertically over its webs 7, 7 and hence the entire weight of the main trolley and its load and that of the auxiliary and its load is supported in vertical alinement with the two vertical webs of the girders. The main hoisting chains or ropes 8, 8, depend inside of the girders and are connected in any desired manner to the ladle bar 9. By this arrangement the main trolley may be made of compact form and be adapted to support the weight of the ladle and its contents as nearly in alinement as is desired with the ladle hooks 10, 10. Should either one of the main hoisting chains or ropes break, the main trolley cannot be overturned as its lead is suspended from the main trolley at points inside of the girders 1, 1. The auxiliary trolley 3 is, in effect, a locomotive jib crane being provided with a rotary turntable 11 which is mounted on supporting wheels to insure of its ready operation and is rotated by an electric motor 12 through the medium of suitable gearing not shown, the motor being controlled by electrical connection from the operators cage. ()n the turntable 11 is mounted a hoisting drum 13 which carries the main hoisting rope or chain 14: which passes over a sheave 15 mounted near the outer end of the jib 16 which is of sufficient length to )roject outside of the footwalks 17 attached to the outer sides of the girders 1, 1. Upon the turntable is mounted an auxiliary hoisting drum 13 which is operated by an electric motor 13". This auxiliary hoisting drum carries an auxiliary hoisting rope or chain 14: which passes over a sheave 15 mounted in the outer end of jib l6, and depends therefrom as illustrated in the drawings.

In the operation of a ladle crane the auxiliary trolley is sometimes employed to carry a ladle of molten metal to and discharge it into the large ladle carried by the main trolley, and to facilitate this operation I provide the auxiliary trolley with main and auxiliary hoisting chains or ropes in order to permit the main rope to be used to lift and transport a ladle of molten metal and to big the ladle by means of the auxiliary rope ant thereby discharge its contents into the main ladle. The girders 1, 1, and which constitute the traveling bridge of the crane, are propelled forwardly and backwardly on the traekways of the crane by means of the electric motor 18 secured to the outer side of one of the girders and at any point throughout its length. The auxiliary trolley is pro vided with a foot-walk 19 having side railing 20 which may extend completely around said trolley and from this footwalk steps or a ladder 21 depend to a point near one of the footwalks 17 whereby ready access is had to the auxiliary trolley for inspection or repairs. On the rotary bed of the auxiliary trolley, at a point opposite its jib, is mounted a standard 22 which constitutes a counterweight and also a support for the inner ends of the braces 23 which are connected at their outer ends to the jib. The auxiliary trolley is provided with safety hooks 2 which extend downwardly and beneath the projecting flanges 25 of the girders and prevent the overturning of the auxiliary trolley while in use.

In the operation of the crane the main and auxiliary trolleys are entirely independent in their operation and movements and the auxiliary trolley may have its rotary table swung around into position for tipping the ladle or doing any other work between the girders which is performed by such trolleys in cranes of ordinary construction, while it is adapted to perform a great variety of additional work. For instance the jib auxiliary trolley may be rotated so as to carry the hoisting rope or chain outside the main girders and enable the auxiliary trolley to be used to lift skulls or spills or other material or machinery located outside the main girders; also to lift and remove and replace for inspection or repairs the bridge motor or any of the controlling mechanism within the operators cage, and further owing to the fact that the auxiliary trolley is located above the main trolley, it may be utilized for removing and replacing any part of the main trolley. In installing the crane, the auxiliary having been installed, can be utilized in lifting and installing the main trolley, bridge motor and other parts of the crane.

In the modification represented in Fig. 2, the auxiliary trolley is provided with two projecting arms 16, 16 to provide for the use of two separate and independent auxiliary hoisting ropes or chains. In this construction instead of supporting the main and auxiliary trolleys on two girders, four separate and independent girders are employed, the main trolley beingsupported by the main girders 26 and the auxiliary trolley by the auxiliary girders 27. The auxiliary trolley in this construction is provided with safety hooks 28 which depend between the main and auxiliary girders and project outwardly beneath the auxiliary girders so as to effectually prevent the overturning of the auxiliary trolley.

In the operation of ladle cranes the auxiliary trolley is called into action only occasionally and when it is notin actual use it requires to be at all tlmes under the watch 'ful care of the crane operator to see to it that the auxiliary hoisting rope or chain does not interfere with the ladle bar, while in the operation of my improved crane, the auxiliary hoist rope or chain may be swung outside of the girders and entirely out of the path of the ladle bar and when it is desired to use the auxiliary trolley to tip the ladle or perform any other work between the girders its hoisting rope or chain may be quickly swung into posit-ion between the girders, after which it may be swung outside of the girders again where it is always in readiness for use for any of the several purposes which I have heretofore pointed out.

As it is evident that my improvements will admit of a wide departure from the par ticular construction and arrangement of parts shown and described without depar ture from the spirit of my invention, I would have it understood that I do not restrict myself to the particular construction shown and described, but,-

Having fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is,

1. In a ladle crane, the combination with a main trolley, of an auxiliary trolley provided with a hoisting rope or chain supported on a transverse adjustable arm.

2. In a ladle crane, the combination with a main trolley, of an auxiliary trolley 10- cated outside the main trolley and provided t with a hoisting rope or chain, and means for operating the same either inside or outside the girders supporting the main trolley.

3. In a ladle crane, the combination with a main trolley, of an auxiliary trolley located above the main trolley and provided with a hoisting rope or chain, and means for operating the same at a point outside or inside the main girders.

4. In a ladle crane, the combination with a main trolley, an auxiliary trolley, and girders, each provided with two sets of rails for supporting said trolleys, of a rotary table or support on the auxiliary trolley for carrying the auxiliary hoisting rope or chain.

5. In a ladle crane, the combination with the main and auxiliary trolleys, of two .girders for supporting the same, and safety with an outwardly projecting arm for carry- I with a rotatable jib carrying main and auxing its hoisting rope or chain, and with a l iliary hoisting ropes or chains, substantially counter weight opposite said arm. l as set forth.

8. 1'11 a ladle crane, the combination with In testimony whereof, I have signed. this 5 the main trolley, of an auxiliary trolley pro specification in the presence of two subscrib- 5 vided with main and auxiliary hoisting ing witnesses.

chains or ropes. WILLIAM H. MORGAN.

9. In a ladle crane, the combination with Witnesses: a main trolley, of an auxiliary trolley 10- S. G. NOTTINGHAM,

l0 cated above the main trolley and provided A. \V. BRIGHT. 

